


Worlds collide

by Dahlia_Rose_83



Series: world [3]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: M/M, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-05 03:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4164336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Rose_83/pseuds/Dahlia_Rose_83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things have been quiet in Mystic Falls lately. So now is the perfect time for a long overdue family visit. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This follows my stories "Caught between two worlds" and "World of our own". You should read both before reading this, to understand everything. I own nothing but Ric's family.

Worlds collide

Alaric searched through one drawer after another, muttering silently to himself, while Damon watched him bemusedly from his spot on the bed. “What are you looking for?” the dark-haired vampire asked after a while, since it didn’t look like his boyfriend would stop anytime soon. “My passport.” was the short reply. “Usually in the cupboard over there, top drawer on the left. But I already put it into your bag.” Damon let him know. Ric gave him a skeptical look. “Why do you always know where I put my things?”

“Because I’m usually the one who puts your things away.” the older vampire explained, rolling his eyes. Sometimes he really wondered what had gotten into him, when he’d asked Ric to move in with him. He should`ve known it wouldn´t be easy. Despite the fact that they had a lot in common they were just polar opposites in some things. But the whole hopping between houses had grated on his nerves and they had already spent practically every night together. So back then it had sounded like the most obvious solution to quit Alaric`s flat and empty out his room at the Gilbert’s.

Elena had been 19 at the time and therefore old enough to take care of herself. Now she and Stefan were going to college and both lived at the dorms. Okay, Damon hadn’t thought Ric would drag a moody teenager into his house, but he could even live with that. Upon the teacher´s insistence Jeremy spent the week in a room at the boarding house and only went home on the weekends and during breaks. Really, it all worked out quite well. Or it would, if Ric wouldn’t be so damned chaotic.

Somehow he always managed to strew his things through the whole house, making Damon clean up after him. Ric`s dirty laundry only seldom found its way into the laundry basket. It usually ended up somewhere on the floor and for some reason he always lost his socks. It drove Damon nearly insane. He wasn’t used to sharing his personal space with someone else and he had always been a bit of a neat freak. So it was inevitable that they fought regularly. The older vampire rather liked the hot make-up sex that usually followed their fights, but after much persuasion from Elena, Stefan and Jeremy they had finally sat down and talked it out a couple of weeks ago. Both had promised to better themselves.

“Hey, I’m doing a lot better.” Alaric protested now and Damon had to bite back a snort. Okay, so the teacher finally managed to put his clothes into the wardrobe, instead of draping them over every available piece of furniture. And Damon hadn’t found a dirty sock in the library in at least two weeks. Definite progress. In exchange the dark-haired vampire didn’t start shouting anymore whenever Ric left his papers scattered all over the living room or when Ric did the laundry and then put Damon´s clothes in the wrong place. 

“You did. A little.” he admitted. Alaric dropped down onto the bed next to him with a sigh. “You sure we packed everything?” he asked. “For the millionth time, Ric – yes, I am sure.” Damon assured a little annoyed. “Sorry. I’m just nervous.” the teacher muttered. He was really wondering why they did this to themselves. “Hey, relax. It’s only a weekend.” the older vampire reminded.

So what if it was only a weekend? It was a weekend in Boston, visiting Alaric`s family. That was the problem. His mom had gotten it into her head to invite them to the Saltzman Thanksgiving dinner. And when Maeve Saltzman decided something no-one could talk her out of it. Not that Damon had even tried to talk her out of it. No, he had been thrilled by the idea. He loved Maeve and called her regularly. Even more so than Ric.

The teacher was really glad that the two of them got along so well. Really. And it had been cool to come home and find Damon waiting for him with homemade apple pie, thanks to a recipe from Ric´s grandmother. A recipe his mother would´ve never given to Isobel.

On the other hand Damon and Maeve got along a little too well. His mother loved to talk. Especially about him. Just a few weeks ago Damon had teased him mercilessly about his fear of snakes and hadn´t accepted Ric´s explanation of a childhood trauma. And despite the fact that Damon had insisted it had been Jeremy, who put the toy snake into Ric`s underwear drawer, Ric had instantly known that it had been his boyfriend. Damon might think it was a funny prank, but he had gotten the shock of a lifetime. And no matter what his boyfriend said, he had not screamed like a little girl. It had been a very manly yell, thank you very much.

To make matters even worse the dick had only apologized after Alaric had spent the night at the Gilberts and locked him out of the bedroom with some help from Bonnie. (Who thankfully hadn’t asked questions.) And even then it hadn’t sounded like he`d meant it.

“You’re brooding again. Stop that.” Damon´s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Nothing will go wrong, Ric. Your mom knows everything. She’ll invite us into the house. Two blocks away is a hospital, where we can get blood-bags and Maeve will agree with our excuse, that we’re visiting an old friend of yours. She’ll also make sure no-one follows us. We thought of everything.” he reminded. “I know.” Ric muttered with a sigh. That wasn´t really what was bothering him. Despite the fact that their plans had the uncanny ability to fail spectacularly, they really had thought of everything.

What was bothering him more was his family. Okay, so Nate knew about him and Damon and his mom even knew about the whole vampire thing. But still he couldn´t help remembering the disastrous Christmas he and Isobel had spent with his family. He had no desire to repeat that experience. And he didn’t think his dad would react better to Damon´s presence than to Isobel. After all, he still thought Alaric was 100 percent straight.

But it was too late to turn back now. The flights were booked, their bags were packed and Sheriff Forbes would drive them to the airport early tomorrow morning. Jeremy had already left this afternoon and was now at Whitmore College, where he would spend the night in Tyler´s dorm and celebrate with his sister and her friends. “Let´s go to bed. We need to get up early.” the teacher finally murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. Damon gets to meet a few more members of Ric's Family today. I apologize in advance for Elroy. Not sure where he actually came from. He's mostly inspired by a Charakter from one Episode of the british crime series "Midsomer Murders".

The alarm clock sounded way too early for Damon´s liking. Ric had been tossing and turning half the night, keeping him from getting much sleep as well. When Damon had suggested using the time to have some fun, since neither of them was sleeping anyways, he had only huffed an turned onto his side. And there he called Damon a drama-queen.

They didn't shower together for a change, to make sure they wouldn´t get caught up and waste time they didn’t have. Even so they just managed a cup of coffee and a blood-bag before Sheriff Forbes car turned into the driveway.

The two vampires brought their bags to the car and put them into the trunk. After Damon had made sure that he front door was actually locked for a change they started towards the airport. They talked with Liz about the kids and the fact that it had been strangely quiet the past few weeks. “I’m waiting for something horrible to happen everyday, truth be told. It can’t stay this quiet for long. That’s unnatural for Mystic Falls.” the sheriff muttered. Ric agreed with her, but Damon told them to stop being so pessimistic. Even Mystic Falls deserved a break from the supernatural every now and then, right? 

Lucky for them there weren’t that many cars around this early and they reached their destination quickly. Liz took her leave, after promising to pick them up again upon their return. Check-in was a quick affair, thanks to them compelling a few people. Since they didn´t plan on staying in Boston long both vampires only had one small bag each, which they took into the plane with them. After about 30 minutes they flopped into their seats in first class. 

“I’ve never traveled first class before.” Alaric commented, looking around in wonder. It was almost comfortable in here. “Then it´s about time. Since we have to fly, we might as well do it in style.” his boyfriend replied. They had discussed alternative methods, but neither had wanted to drive the whole distance or take the train. Flying was the easiest and fastest way.

Alaric had his blood-lust completely under control now, so he didn´t mind spending a few hours cooped up in a small space with so many humans. And thanks to their first class tickets they had quite a bit of space. Way better than the cramped seating arrangements the teacher was used to. It was rather quiet here as well, since not many people traveled first class. Well aside from the sleazy blonde across from them, who was undressing Damon with her eyes. Ric sighed, leaned over and kissed his boyfriend provocatively, showing her clearly that she wouldn’t stand a chance. It worked and the blonde quickly looked away. But now the business man next to her was giving them dark looks. Well, you couldn´t have everything, right? And at least Damon was more than happy about the further prove on how much he had corrupted Ric.

Shortly after take-off the teacher pulled his mp3-player out of his bag, to drown out the annoying chatter of the blonde, who was now hitting on the business man. Damon made sure the stewardess got them lots of drinks, before pulling out a book and cuddling against his boyfriend. Alaric pulled out a book of his own, put his arm around Damon almost out of habit and started to read.

###

It was a quiet and uneventful flight, but still both vampires were glad when they finally landed in Boston shortly after noon. They went to pick up their rental car and then Alaric drove the still familiar route to his childhood home. It felt strange to be back here. He hadn´t visited his family in years. Marrying Isobel had estranged them and it hadn’t exactly gotten better after her supposed death. If anything it had gotten worse.

The streets of his old home were still familiar, but somehow also a little strange. A lot had changed over the years. Some of the shops he remembered had closed down and new ones had appeared. Houses had been demolished and new ones built. But still some things never changed, so the drive became some sort of trip into his past.

They passed by the cafe where he´d had his first date, his old high school and the street corner, where Lucy Thompson had broken up with him, because of some guy from the football team. Damon was excited to see all these places and hear the stories Ric had to tell. There was still so much he didn´t know about his boyfriend and it felt strange to picture him as a teenager or a kid.

“Maeve promised to show me some old photos.” he told his boyfriend with a grin, just as they were passing the place where Ric's favorite playground had been. Now it was a shopping mall. Ric rolled his eyes. “I was expecting something like that. Don´t you dare to take some of them with you as a souvenir.” It was plain to see that Damon was planning on doing exactly that. Maybe Maeve had even made copies for him. Ric wouldn’t put it past his mom.

After about one and a half hours drive they reached a nice, quiet part of the city. Alaric slowed the car down and turned left into the driveway of an old two-story house. Damon got out of the car and started looking around excitedly. The house had been freshly painted in a soft, orange color. A path led from the driveway, with space for two cars, up to the front porch and to the side the vampire spotted a garage. The garden looked well kept and the white fence had been painted recently. All in all it looked homely and welcoming.

“So this is where you grew up.” the dark-haired vampire murmured. Not exactly what he´d been expecting, truth be told. Although he didn´t even know what exactly he had been expecting. Maybe something a little more extraordinary. Ric was a very extraordinary man after all. Somehow he had thought his old home would show it.

“Yes, I am. And now come on. Mom is surely waiting for us.” Alaric urged. True to his word they had barely gotten their bags out of the trunk when the front door opened and a familiar figure stepped onto the porch. Maeve Saltzman hadn´t changed one bit since her visit to Mystic Falls a little over a year ago. Her delicate curls still held that golden hue and she smiled widely when she spotted them. “There you are. Finally. Come in, both of you.” she greeted the two vampires.

Alaric took a hesitant step over the threshold and breathed a sigh of relief, when this first act was completed. Somehow he hadn´t been able to shake the completely stupid fear that he wouldn´t be able to enter his childhood home. 

They stepped into the living room, where he put his bag down and hugged his mother. “It’s good to see you, mom.” he whispered, like always overcome by emotion when her familiar scent and warmth enveloped him, bringing him back to his childhood days. Once he had let go of her he watched Damon hug her as well. The older vampire had been completely smitten with Maeve from the first second on. By now she had become some sort of surrogate mother for him.

While Damon was busy chatting to Maeve, Ric`s eyes traveled through the living room, taking notice that not much had changed here since he´d been a kid. His brother and he had played on that light-brown couch for years and he had knocked out a tooth on exactly that table when he`d been four. Even the rug still seemed to be the same one. The walls were painted in a warm, orange color and covered with various photos. The teacher spied a picture of his high school graduation and a wedding picture of his brother Nathan. Then his attention was drawn back to his mother.

“I made up your old room for you two. Why don´t you take the bags upstairs? I’m sure you want to freshen up. Your father and Elroy are picking up the turkey I ordered. They should be back soon. Nathan, Maggie and the boys are coming tomorrow.” Maeve let them know. “Thanks mom. We’ll do that.” Ric agreed. His mother promised to wait for them in the kitchen, so Damon followed his boyfriend up a winding staircase.

They followed the narrow corridor for a few steps, before Ric pointed to a door to their left. “That’s the bathroom. I had to share it with Nate when we were kids. No idea who´s going to stay here over the holidays, but I guess we’ll have to share it. And this is my old room.” The room was hard to miss, because there was still a plate with the name “Alaric” on the white door. The door across from it bore a plate with the name “Nathan” on it.

They entered Ric`s room and Damon looked around in interest. Again not what he'd been expecting. The bed had been freshly made. It wasn’t all that big, but it would do for two days. The covers where striped in white and blue and obviously belonged to Maeve. Damon couldn´t help but wonder what kind of covers Ric had preferred in his youth. Plain ones? Or maybe ones with superheroes on them?

Then his eyes traveled to the still full bookshelves. Those didn’t come as a surprise. His boyfriend was a bookworm. He knew that. The books were a mixture of crime stories, classics, history and school books. Not really surprising either. The walls were painted beige and the only decoration was a large map, a poster of some rock-band Damon had never heard of and a Duke University flag. The rest of the room was filled with a wardrobe, a cupboard and a desk with a chair in front of it.

“Feel free to snoop around. You won´t find anything incriminating here. It made sure of that when I moved out.” Alaric told his boyfriend. Damon pouted and flopped down on the bed. “Who´s this Elroy-guy, you’re dad´s off with?” he asked. “He’s mom’s younger brother. My dad won’t be pleased. He never liked uncle Elroy.” the teacher let him know. “Why not?”

Alaric shrugged. “Well, uncle Elroy is a bit... special. You’ll soon find out what I mean. And my dad has rather specific views. He always thought Elroy was a loser, because instead of pursuing a great career he decided to teach physics and Latin to high school students. Dad thought he was wasting his talents. Pretty much like he did with me, when I moved to Mystic Falls.”

Ric`s dad sounded like a real douche bag and reminded Damon of his own father. At least considering what he´d heard of him so far. Of course Ric knew that. Therefore he had made him promise to behave, no matter what Alaric´s father did or said. The last thing he needed was for Damon to feel protective and snap his dad´s neck.

“Sounds like they’re back.” the teacher muttered suddenly. Just now a car had pulled into the driveway and they could hear the squeaking of the garage-door. Shortly after a door was closing downstairs and voices drifted up from the hallway. Ric and Damon got back up and went downstairs. Maeve was waiting in the kitchen like promised. She was just discussing something with a guy Damon didn’t know. He was tall and lanky, with large glasses. He was wearing faded jeans and a green jumper and his light-brown hair was sticking up in weird curls. To Damon he looked like some sort of mad scientist.

“Alaric. Let me look at you. How long has it been? Three years?” he asked with a grin once he`d spotted the teacher. “More like six, uncle Elroy.” Ric corrected with a wry grin, allowing his uncle to pull him into a quick embrace. “And you must be Damon. A pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard lots about you.” Elroy gushed, turning to the other vampire. Damon shook his hand a little surprised at the greeting. “Maeve is always talking about you.” Elroy continued, which explained a lot.

Maeve had just started pouring homemade lemonade for all of them, when Ric´s father joined them. Damon could see a certain likeness, but Henry Saltzman actually looked more like his older son Nathan. He had the same, light-blond hair, was a little shorter than Ric and also a bit fatter. “Hello dad.” Ric greeted him quietly. His father said hello as well and quickly shook his hand. It was startling to see this subdued greeting, in stark contrast to how Maeve had welcomed them. “How are you?” the teacher asked politely. “The damned hip is still troubling me.” his father grumbled and Maeve reminded him that he wasn’t following his doctor´s orders.

Mr Saltzman ignored her comment and instead asked Ric about the flight. “It was okay. Ahh... Dad, I would like to introduce you to someone.” Alaric started nervously and his father looked at Damon for the first time. “This is Damon Salvatore. My partner.” Damon could hear Ric´s heart hammering. Despite the fact that he felt an instant dislike towards Ric´s father, he pasted a friendly smile onto his face and held out his hand. “It´s nice to meet you, Mr Saltzman.”

But Henry Saltzman ignored him completely. He was busy staring at his son. “Not sure I understood this right, boy. He´s your what?” he barked. Alaric met his dark look defiantly. “My partner. My boyfriend.” he repeated. “I know, this must come as a shock for you. I should´ve told you ages ago, but it was never the right time. I’m bisexual. Damon and I have been together for about two years.”

The older vampire knew that his boyfriend wasn´t nearly as relaxed as he appeared. He took a cautious step closer to him. But Ric`s father didn’t miss the gesture. He gave both vampires a calculating, somewhat disgusted look. “Damon is a very nice and intelligent young man. Our son is very lucky to have him.” Maeve spoke up, drawing her husbands attention to herself. “Does that mean you knew?” he asked angrily.

“Of course I knew. I’ve met Damon while I was visiting Alaric last year, during your rehabilitation.” Maeve explained calmly. “And you didn´t think it necessary to tell me that your son is a … a... well, someone like that?” Henry snapped. He obviously couldn’t think of a proper word or rather swear word to describe Alaric right now.

The teacher noticed Damon tensing next to him and put a warning hand onto his shoulder. Really, he had been expecting that kind of reaction from his father. It was the reason why he had postponed this talk so long. And he also didn´t miss the fact that his dad had said “your son” instead of “our son”. It had always been like that. Whenever Ric had done something his father wasn´t happy with he would call him Maeve´s son, like it wasn’t his fault that Ric was such a miserable loser.

Maeve seemed to have expected this as well, because she didn´t bat an eyelash. She told her husband calmly, that it was Alaric´s choice what he told his father and she had no right to interfere. “And now stop behaving like a caveman and shake Damon´s hand. I´ve invited him. He is my guest. So I expect you to treat him with respect.” she ordered sternly. Henry looked like she was forcing him to stick his hand into a nest of spiders, but he shook Damon´s hand and muttered a quick greeting. Then he turned and left the kitchen without another word.

“Well, that went better than I expected.” Ric´s mom commented wryly. “He’s going to lock himself up in his workshop in the basement and make lots of noise for the rest of the day, but he’ll cool off.” she assured. Alaric wasn´t so sure. He knew how stubborn his father could be. And how much he hated being kept in the dark. But he also knew that his mom would make sure that he was nice to Damon. So he smiled at his boyfriend and reached for his glass.

“Yes, I’m sure he will.” Elroy spoke up again. He had been standing quietly to the side and kept out of it while the Saltzmans fought. “Don´t let him rile you up, boys. Amor vincit omnia – Love conquers all.” he muttered. Damon gave him a strange look, but obediently picked up his glass and took a seat at the table next to his boyfriend.

Maeve asked about the kids, so they told her that most of them were in College now. “Elena chose medicine, like her father.” Alaric let her know. “And Stefan chose architecture. Don´t ask me why. He never showed much interest in the subject until now.” Damon chimed in. “It sounds wonderful. Do they like it so far?” Maeve wanted to know. Ric told her that they seemed to have a lot fun, judging by the things Elena told him during her weekly calls.

After a while he and Elroy started swapping stories from their times as teachers. One of Elroy´s students had blown up the teachers desk a few weeks ago, but he didn´t seem concerned. “A wrong mixture, I suppose. Probably too much ammonia. It happens to the best of us. Errare humanum est – It´s only human to be wrong. I really don´t understand why the principal had to be so hard on poor Michael. There is no proof that it was him who blew up that toilet in the week prior.”

Damon didn´t really know what to make of Elroy. He seemed to have a weird sense of humor and was rather strange all in all. He loved to put Latin verses into his sentences, translating them for better understanding. But aside from his weirdness he was just as nice and caring as Maeve. Just a little.. different.”

“My brother-in-law is a little … difficult, sometimes. But a really nice guy all in all. Very nice. He just doesn´t do well with changes, you know?” he explained, looking at Damon. “And he hates surprises.” Maeve added. “Do you remember the surprise party for his 50th birthday? What a disaster.” Elroy nodded and Alaric explained: “He was moody the whole time, grumbling about the fact that he´d wanted to watch a football game on TV. I recorded the game for him, but he was still mad, because we had ruined his plans.”

Damon snorted in disgust. No matter what they told him. In his opinion Ric´s father was a real dick, who didn´t deserve his family making excuses for him. But a pointed look from Alaric reminded him of his promise to be nice. So he said nothing and simply changed the topic by thanking Maeve for the apple pie recipe again. Even though Ric had thanked him for his troubles by calling him a perfect housewife. Not for the first time either. Maybe he should make good on his promise to make the teacher sleep on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I managed to get another chapter done. And it's even a pretty long one this time.

Some time later Maeve offered to show Damon the house. Ric stayed back in the kitchen with Elroy, who was telling stories about his most outrageous students. The living room and the kitchen Damon had already seen. Aside from that the ground floor held the bedroom of Ric´s parents, a storage-room and a bathroom. A staircase led from the living room down to the basement, from where they could hear loud hammering.

In the upper part of the house were the rooms of Ric and his brother Nathan, as well as a guest room, two bathrooms and Henry´s old office. “He really doesn´t need it anymore since he´s retired, but he refuses to empty it out. We could use it for another guest room.” Maeve complained. “He´s so pigheaded sometimes.” Damon bit his tongue to refrain from commenting or suggesting just compelling Henry. He already knew what her answer would be.

“And how is it going with you two? Did you manage to teach my son a bit more tidiness, yet?” Ric's mother asked. Of course she knew about their problems. “It´s getting better, I think. Baby steps.” Damon answered. “I know what you’re going through, believe me. When Alaric was still living here I had to clean up after him all the time. This chaotic streak is one of the very few things he inherited from his father. Henry would be totally lost if I didn´t do his laundry and put away his things. Nathan on the other hand has always been a neat freak. Even when he was a kid. Something you can relate to, I guess.”

Damon smiled ruefully. “Did Ric complain about me lately?” he wanted to know. He wouldn’t even begrudge his boyfriend. He himself had called Maeve often enough during their first few weeks together to tell her of his sorrows with her son, who just couldn´t tidy up after himself. “Not lately, no. In fact he said you were getting less uptight.” she assured.

“I’m not used to sharing the house with someone besides Stefan. It´s all so new.” Damon muttered. “I know, honey. But don´t worry, you’ll get through this. Really, you´ve survived worse things together.” Maeve reminded. “But now we should head back downstairs.”

Back in the kitchen Alaric and Elroy had obviously gotten into a contest over who had the worse students. Damon really wanted to ask if Elroy liked marking his tests half-drunk as well, but didn´t want to get Ric in trouble with his mother. Maeve was looking at her son anyways. “I just remembered that I wanted to ask you a favor. Your father had the wonderful idea to clean out the attic. Maybe you could take a look up there and see if there´s something you want to keep. I could send you anything you can´t take with you on the flight.” Maeve offered. “Yeah, sure. I guess I’ll take look up there right now.” the teacher promised. He didn´t need to ask if Damon wanted to tag along. The dark-haired vampire had this strange gleam in his eyes again. He was obviously hoping to find some incriminating stuff about his boyfriend.

They went back upstairs and Ric opened the hatch that led to the attic. He climbed up and switched on the light, looking around for a moment. It was plain to see that nobody had been up here in quite a while. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere.

“So.. what secrets might be hidden here?” Damon asked, looking around as well. Ric shrugged. “No idea. Since I was a kid my dad brought everything up here that wasn’t really needed anymore, but that we also didn´t want to throw away. There must be quite a few things here even I don´t remember.” he mused. The whole attic was filled with old furniture, boxes and trinkets. On the far wall he spied a few paintings he had never seen before and in the corner there was a pile of rugs, next to an old lamp and his first bike.

“This might take a while.” Alaric murmured with a sigh. While he had been looking around, Damon had already opened one of the boxes and was now holding up some magazines. “What have you got there? My old Playboy-collection?” Ric joked. “You collected the Playboy?” his boyfriend asked in interest. “No, that was a joke. And even if I had, my dad wouldn´t have put them up here. So what do you have there?”

“Looks like comic-books. Those yours?” Ric took one of them and looked at the cover. “No, these were Nate´s. He loved that whole superhero-stuff.” Damon looked disappointed. They put the box aside and opened the next one, finding more comic-books. Nate must`ve had hundreds of them, because there were two more boxes filled with comic-books. The next one contained old school-books and Damon was slowly starting to get bored.

The seventh box finally proved a little more interesting. Damon found a few toy cars and a rather battered looking toy cat with gray fur and big green eyes. “Hey, that´s Mr. Whiskers. Mum gave him to me when I was three years old. I couldn’t sleep without him for ages. Didn´t know he was up here. I thought I´d lost him.” Ric murmured in wonder. Damon looked at the cat with a grin and declared: “We’re definitely taking him with us.” Ric shook his head fondly, but didn´t comment. Instead he turned to the next couple of boxes.

Both vampires had a good laugh when they discovered Nathan`s diary in one of the next boxes. Ric supposed he must`ve been around 15 when he wrote in that, because he kept complaining that Maggie ignored him. “She’s the most wonderful girl I´ve ever seen. I love her. I wanna date her. I wanna marry her. But when I’m standing in front of her my brain turns to jello and I don´t get a word out. Life is so unfair.” Damon read aloud and started laughing madly. “We have to show this to Maggie.” Ric decided, howling with laughter as well.

The next couple of boxes were less funny or interesting. There were more old school-books, some tools, Christmas decorations, dishes and his fathers old CD-collection. The toys were mostly Nate’s, because according to Alaric, he had destroyed pretty much everything, while his brother had been very careful with his things. The two boxes full of old Halloween costumes had obviously been invaded by moth, because the rags were barely identifiable.

Still after about two hours they had packed a box full of things Ric wanted to take with him. His old toy cars were in there, as well as a few books he had completely forgotten about and a lamp he had never seen before, but was very sure would look good on his desk at home.

“How did you get the couch up here?” Damon asked in disbelief. He had just pulled the covers off of some pieces of furniture in a corner and found a beautiful little couch underneath. “No idea. I can't remember ever seeing that before. Must´ve been my dad.” Ric said with a shrug. Damon was giving the couch a critical once over. It looked comfortable and seemed big enough... “How about a break? I think we´ve seen most of whats up here already, haven´t we?” he suggested. Alaric, who was busy inspecting a cupboard, nodded absent mindedly. “Yeah, sure.”

Without warning he was grabbed from behind and found himself flat on his back on the small couch seconds later. Damon was instantly straddling his lap, kissing him. The teacher responded automatically by pulling him closer. “That´s a bad idea. We shouldn´t do this here.” he cautioned, once their lips had parted. But when Damon´s hands found their way underneath his shirt, caressing his sides, before pulling the restricting garment off, every protest died on his tongue. He threw his head back and moaned, when his boyfriend´s lips trailed over his chin to his neck, teasingly nipping at the tender skin.

Ric´s own hands started wandering as well. They slid under Damon´s dark shirt, stroked his sides for a moment. Their lips met again and Ric grabbed Damon´s ass, pulling him closer. Their groins rubbed against each other and both groaned. Ric moved his hands to the dark-haired vampire´s fly and was just about to open it when...

“Oh, I guess this is bad timing.” there was suddenly a male voice. Both vampires jumped apart and looked towards the entrance guiltily. Elroy was staring at them with pink cheeks. “I’m really sorry. I didn´t mean to disturb. And I don´t mind, really. I mean … Suum cuique – Each in his own way, right? But.. maybe you could...” He gestured vaguely with his hands. Damon got up quickly and Ric put his shirt back on. “Sorry, uncle Elroy. Did you want something?” he asked a little embarrassed at being caught.

“Oh, yes. Maeve and I thought we´d order pizza. You know, she has enough on her hands with the thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I just wanted to ask what you would like.” Elroy explained. He was still looking rather flushed, but he took it in stride. The two vampires quickly told him what they wanted. “We´ll just change clothes then.” Ric decided, since they were both covered in dust and cobwebs. “Yeah no problem. It’ll take about 20 minutes for the pizza to arrive. We´ll be waiting in the kitchen.” Elroy assured before retreating back downstairs. “Great. Just the kind of situation I wanted to avoid.” grumbled Alaric.

“You weren´t complaining a minute ago. And it was only your uncle. Maeve would´ve been worse. Or your dad.” Damon reminded. Ric just shook his head with a resigned sigh. Arguing would get him nowhere and Damon was right, he hadn't complained earlier. “Come on, let´s get changed.” He took the box with the stuff he wanted to keep with him to put it into his room. It would probably be best if he asked his mom to send them the stuff, so they wouldn´t have to take it with them on the flight. Only when they reached his old room did he notice that Damon was carrying Mr. Whiskers. He couldn´t help but grin at the sight. “What? I said we´re taking him with us, right?” the dark-haired vampire reminded him.

After getting changed they went downstairs to the kitchen, where the pizza had just arrived. Alaric´s father took his own pizza, mumbled something about football and disappeared into the living-room, where they could hear the TV. Ric and Damon joined Maeve and Elroy at the table.

After dinner Elroy disappeared into the guest-bedroom, while the two vampires hung back to talk to Maeve and tell her what was going on in Mystic Falls. But finally they too bid her goodnight and returned to Ric´s old bedroom to finish what they had started earlier in the attic and shower together afterwards.

While Ric was still in the bathroom brushing his teeth a while later, Damon was already lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He could hear Alaric´s parents having a fight downstairs and it reminded him of his own childhood. How many nights had he spent lying awake, hiding under the covers in the vain hope they might drown out his fathers angry shouting? How often had he listened with baited breath after all had fallen silent, always scared his father might have snapped and killed his mother? He couldn´t remember. Too often.

But in stark contrast to Damon´s mother, who had always taken her husbands abuse with silent patience, Maeve didn´t back down. As soon as Henry fell silent for a few seconds, her angry voice carried upstairs: “You should be ashamed of yourself, Henry Saltzman. It seems I´ve married an ignorant hypocrite without realizing it! If you would just try to take some interest in Alaric`s life for once, instead of judging him, you would know that he´s a well respected member of the community in Mystic Falls. His students look up to him and he´s friends with the Mayor. And the same goes for Damon. You should be proud of your son and glad that he´s finally happy again!”

The dark-haired vampire jumped in surprise when the bedroom door shut with an almost silent click and Alaric joined him in bed. The teacher knew enough of his boyfriend´s childhood by now to be able to guess what was on his mind. “They love each other. Really, they do. They just fight sometimes. We fight often enough as well. Usually he´s putty in her hands. He knows that he would be lost without mom. He´s just..”

“He´s a goddamn asshole!” Damon interrupted him. “So stop trying to find excuses for him. There aren´t any.” His mom had always found excuses for his father´s behavior as well. Even when he´d beaten Damon with a belt. “He's difficult.” Ric corrected. “Just ignore him. Mom knows how to handle him.” But the dark-haired vampire wouldn't drop the subject. “I don't give a fuck about what I've promised you. If I see one tiny scratch on Maeve tomorrow, I'll snap his fucking neck!” he warned.

“He would never hurt my mom.“ Alaric protested in shock. “That's what you think.” Damon countered. He sat up, drew his knees close to his chest and hugged himself. The voices of Ric's parents weren't as loud as before, but he could still hear Maeve arguing. She sounded mad and didn't allow Henry to interrupt her. So different from how Damon's mom had been...

“You know Maeve. Do you really think she would have stayed with him if he ever raised a hand against her? She would have taken Nate and me and left him in an instant.” Alaric assured quietly. “She's not like your mom was. It's a different time.” he reminded. Sometimes it was so easy to forget how old Damon was and what had happened to him in his younger years. The dark-haired vampire almost never talked about his childhood. But Ric knew that it hadn't exactly been a happy one.

“She never fought back.” Damon whispered. “She just allowed him to use her as a punching bag. When I said something she always claimed he hadn't meant it and he felt sorry and shit like that. She always found excuses. No matter what he did.”

Alaric pulled him down, so Damon was lying with his head resting on the teacher's chest. Then he put both arms around his boyfriend and started stroking his back gently, until Damon cuddled against him and relaxed a little. “You know that my mom isn't like that. You heard her yelling at dad.” Ric murmured quietly. Damon murmured in agreement. “I'm sorry. I should have known that this visit would bring up unpleasant memories for you.” the teacher whispered. He should have never dragged his boyfriend here.

“S'okay. It's not your fault.” Damon mumbled. “And stop worrying. I'll be fine. But if he continues to act like a dick...” Ric smiled. “He won't. Don't worry. Mom will make sure of that. Let´s just go to sleep now.” The older vampire nodded and cuddled further into his boyfriend´s arms. He closed his eyes and listened to Ric´s steady breathing. But he lay awake long after all had fallen silent downstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, I've got another chapter finished. It's so hot here that I can't really do much besides sitting around somehwere writing. My flat is turning into a Sauna and I guess there's nothing I can do about it, short of buying air conditioning. I live in Germany, for christs sake. Why is it so hot?
> 
> Okay, enough rambling for now. On with the Story. And sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

At breakfast next morning Alaric´s parents had obviously already made up again. Henry was still distant towards the vampires and barely talked to his son at all, but Damon noticed him and Maeve sharing a fond grin when Elroy poured strawberry jam over his scrambled eggs and dipped his toast into his coffee cup. No-one seemed surprised by his odd eating style.

Maeve seemed to try to make up for her husbands grumpy attitude, by being overly cheerful. But it didn't seem forced and Damon, who had watched her closely, couldn't detect any signs of injury on her. She asked about their plans for the day, so Alaric told her that he and Damon would visit an old friend of his and then go sightseeing. It was the official excuse they had all agreed on beforehand. 

They left shortly after breakfast. When Damon looked back over his shoulder he found Henry cleaning the dishes and Maeve dropping a kiss on his cheek. Both were gazing at each other fondly. The vampire couldn’t remember ever seeing a scene like this between his own parents. “I told you, they love each other. Even if he´s an ass sometimes.” Alaric whispered behind him. Damon wasn’t ready to admit defeat, so he said nothing.

They drove to the nearby hospital, where they had a short talk – or in Damon´s case a short flirt - with the nice lady at the reception desk. Afterwards Ric compelled a nurse to get them blood-bags and stand guard while they drained them in an empty room.

Then they drove around town for a while and Ric showed his boyfriend the places he remembered from his childhood and youth. They took a walk through the park where he had gotten his first kiss and spent long minutes sitting on a bench, kissing, oblivious to the world around them. Ric couldn’t remember if it was the same bench where he`d gotten his first kiss, but he was sure that Damon was a way better kisser than Lucy Thompson had ever been.

After leaving the park they made their way to Alaric`s old high school and the teacher had to stop his friend from breaking into the historical building. “Hey, why not? No-one will notice. We could take a look at your old classroom and see if the teachers desk is as sturdy as yours at home.” the older vampire muttered, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. “Forget it.” was the only answer and Ric hurried on, hoping his boyfriend would follow. He did, although he did call him a bore.

They gave the playground a wide berth, since the screaming of all the kids there grated on their nerves even from afar. The library where Ric had spent a good deal of his youth was closed and once again Ric had to stop his boyfriend from breaking in. Sometimes he wondered at Damon's recklessness, but he chose not to comment on it. 

Much to his dismay his favorite cafe no longer existed. He would have loved to show the older vampire where he had spent most of his time as a teenager. In the end they had lunch at a new Asian restaurant and after a bit of coaxing Alaric allowed Damon to drag him to the mens-room. About 20 minutes later they left the restaurant with matching grins on their faces and the teacher had to admit that the fear of getting caught gave him quite a thrill. Even though he should probably be used to it by now, seeing how often Stefan or lately Jeremy had already barged in on them having sex in the boarding house library.

When they finally returned to Alaric´s parents house it was early afternoon. They parked the car next to a silver SUV, which was blocking half the driveway and Ric explained: “That´s Nate´s car. Looks like you´re about to meet the rest of my family.”

In fact it was his older brother who opened the door for them only seconds later. “There you are. Finally. Mom’s getting worried. She was about to send someone searching for you.” he greeted the two of them. Like always he was dressed in an immaculate dark suit. Damon wondered if he even owned other clothes. He thought not. Nathan really hadn´t changed since their last meeting.

And still Alaric couldn´t help but notice the first gray streaks in his blonde hair and the tiny wrinkles around his eyes. The fact that his whole family would age and die some day, while he remained eternally young hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course he had always known it. But he hadn´t given it much thought. It had seemed so far away. So theoretical. Only in this moment did he realize the whole truth of what it meant to be a vampire. And it shocked him.

Of course Damon noticed that his boyfriend was awfully quiet all of a sudden, but he couldn´t see any reason for it. Nate had been nice and hadn´t said or done anything to anger Ric. But the dark-haired vampire had no chance to speak to his boyfriend alone, since Nathan was already dragging him into the living-room to introduce him to the rest of the family.

Nate´s wife Maggie was a short, rather plump woman, with shoulder-length brown hair, that she had pulled up in a ponytail and warm brown eyes. She was wearing white jeans and a hand-knitted sweater. Damon kissed her hand in greeting and asked Nate, why he had kept this beauty hidden from him for so long, making her giggle like a school-girl.

Nathan only rolled his eyes in annoyance and introduced Damon to his older son Henry, who had obviously been named after his grandfather. He turned out to be a typical 12 year old, who had inherited his father´s blond hair and his mother´s eyes. He was wearing a dark hoody and faded jeans. Loud music was blaring from his headphones and he lifted his gaze from his mobile phone only long enough to mutter a hello in Damon´s direction. Charming, really.

His 10 year old brother Paul looked a lot like him, but his greeting was very enthusiastic. He hugged Alaric and told him very loudly how great it was to see him again, before he started bombarding Damon with questions. Nathan had told his sons a few weeks ago that their uncle was dating a guy and according to him they had really taken it in stride.

Since Damon and Nate were busy with Paul, Alaric used the chance to escape into the kitchen, where his mother was stirring something in a pot. He offered his help, but she told him that she and Maggie were pretty much done with the preparations. “The turkey is already in the oven, desert is in the fridge and the rest of the stuff is coming along nicely.” she assured. Ric nodded and took a seat at the table. He knew that he should head back to the living-room, to make sure Damon didn´t do anything stupid. It was probably not a good idea to leave him alone with his nephews. But he felt too edgy to face the others right now, so he just sat there and watched his mother.

“What is bothering you, Alaric?” Maeve asked after a while. She had always had the uncanny ability to sense it when her sons were in trouble. Ric made sure that no-one could overhear them, before he admitted quietly: “I think, I just understood for the first time what it really means to be a vampire.” He felt kinda stupid admitting it out loud, but it was the truth. And his mother would never laugh at him.

Maeve put the pot aside and sat down next to him. “You will always be a part of this family, no matter what you are now.” she assured quietly, taking his hand in hers. “This is your home. You´re always welcome here. That will never change, I promise you. And I will always be your mother. I love you, Alaric. I will always love you.”

Her kind words brought tears to his eyes, even though that wasn´t really what he was worried about. “Have you talked about it with Damon?” his mom wanted to know. “No, not yet.” he admitted. “You should. You know, I´m always there for you no matter what. You can always talk to me. But I think in this case he would be the better address. He can understand you better than I can.” Alaric nodded. She was right. Like always. Because while he knew that he could tell her anything, she wouldn´t be able to understand him like Damon could. “Thanks, mom. I’ll go in search of him.” he decided. Maeve got up and hugged him. “Do that, honey.”

###

As soon as he had stepped into the living-room again, Ric´s melancholy disappeared instantly. Someone – probably Nate – had brought out the X-Box and Damon was sitting on the couch, playing video games with Paul. With a grin the teacher leaned against the wall to watch them. “I really hope Paul is going to be too tired to fight with his brother later.” Maggie murmured, stepping next to Ric and watching the two of them as well. “Maeve insisted on us staying overnight. Even though there´s not really enough space. Elroy is going to sleep on the couch, so Nathan and I can have the guest-bedroom and the boys will have to share Nathan´s old room. I fear they’re going to end up fighting, confined to such a small space.”

Ric could understand her fear. Despite the fact that he hadn´t been in touch with his family for years, he could still remember how the two boys had always been fighting when they were little. “Is it still that bad?” he asked. “You have no idea. For a while it actually got better, but now that Henry is hitting puberty it´s hell. You´re lucky you´re spared this experience.” Maggie said with a dramatic sigh.

“Hey, I took over guardianship for two teenagers from one day to the other. That wasn´t easy either.” Ric muttered. “I can imagine. But I´m sure Damon was a big help, right? Nathan said he´s guardian of his younger brother. And he seems to get on well with kids. Paul adores him.” Ric gave his sister-in-law a mild glare. “He´s almost still a child himself. Really, there are days when he´s behaving like a 12 year old.”

Almost as if to prove him right, Damon chose that moment to pick a fight with Paul. The boy accused him of cheating and the vampire glared at him. “You´re a sore loser, that´s all.” he claimed. “I´m not. No-one beats me at Need for Speed. No-one! Not even Henry!” Paul shouted angrily. “Well, I obviously did. So get over it.” Damon snarked.

Maggie was trying unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter. “Okay, I can see what you´re talking about.” she had to admit.”That´s nothing” Ric claimed and noticed with a grin that Paul wanted a re-match. “You look happy. Happier than I´ve ever seen you, I think.” Maggie´s comment alerted the teacher to the fact that he had been staring at his boyfriend without really noticing it. It happened all the time. “I am happy.” he said with a shrug, tearing his eyes away from Damon. “I´m glad to hear that. Really. Nate was worried about you. We all were. We couldn´t help you, after Isobel´s death. We couldn´t really understand what you were going through. And I´ve got to admit that I never really liked her much.”

“Yeah, you´re not the only one.” Ric commented dryly. His whole family had hated Isobel, even though most of them had tried not to let it show. And he could understand them now. “Where are the others?” he asked finally, trying to change the subject. He didn´t like being reminded of his now really dead ex-wife. That was the past. Damon was his future.

“Nate is in the basement with your dad. Don´t ask me what they´re doing down there. I don´t even want to know. Elroy wanted to take a walk and Henry junior is probably hiding somewhere, playing games on his mobile phone. He rarely does much else lately.” she sounded resigned. “Damon and I were up in the attic, looking through the stuff yesterday.” Ric told her in an attempt to cheer her up.

“Yes, Maeve told me that they want to empty it. Nate wanted to take a look up there as well. He thought the boys might like his old comic-books. I´m not so sure.” his sister-in-law mumbled. “We found Nate´s old diary. You should read it sometime.” Ric suggested. Maggie gave him a doubtful look. “I can´t violate his trust like that. That´s private.” she insisted, before asking accusingly: “Did you read it?”

“Of course I did. I’m his younger brother. It´s my job to violate his privacy.” the teacher claimed. Maggie rolled her eyes. “Great attitude, Alaric. Please don´t say anything like that in front of Paul.” she asked him. When Ric only grinned she muttered that Damon obviously wasn´t the only one behaving like a 12 year old.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the afternoon was rather quiet. Paul got really mad when Damon beat him again, so he stormed upstairs, where he promptly started a fight with his brother. In the end Maggie had to intervene and even call on Alaric for help. While she was busy giving her older son a talking to, Ric tried to keep Paul entertained, who was still angry at Damon.

The dark-haired vampire used the distraction to visit Maeve in the kitchen. She assured him with a smile that she didn't need help and insisted that she was fine. “I heard you fighting with Henry last night.” Damon admitted quietly. “Oh, yes. Don't think anything by it, honey. Henry can be rather pigheaded sometimes and you've got to say things often and loudly for him to finally get it.” she claimed with a grin, not looking up from her work.

“Has he ever.. hurt you?” Damon couldn't help it. He just had to ask. He needed to know the truth. Maeve turned around and looked at him in shock. “Are you really asking me if my husband is abusive?” The dark-haired vampire shrugged. “I guess so.” he muttered. “Of course not. What do you think of me, Damon? Do you really believe I would still be married to him if he was abusive?” Maeve didn't seem to expect an answer, because she continued: “He's a little hot-tempered at times, but he would never hurt me.”

“He hit Ric.” the vampire pointed out. Maeve sighed and took a step towards him, looking at him closely. “He sometimes gave Alaric or Nathan, though mostly Alaric, a little pat on the backside. And it didn't harm either of them. I always believed that kids need a strong hand from time to time. So okay, there was this one incident. The mouse-incident, as I like to call it. I've told you the story, right? That's what you're referring to? When Alaric tried to smuggle mice into the house and his father caught him? I wasn't home and Henry .. overdid it with the punishment. Later Alaric came running to me, crying and I told Henry in no uncertain words that I would leave him in an instant if anything like that should ever happen again. It never happened again.”

Damon nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry for asking. I just had to know.” he whispered. Maeve hugged him and dropped a kiss onto his cheek. “It's okay, honey. It's very sweet of you to be so concerned for my well-being. But it's completely unnecessary. I can take care of myself. And I chose that idiot, because I love him. I know how to handle him. The Saltzman-men are all a little difficult. You should know that. And be glad you didn't know Alaric's grandfather. He was .. more than just a little difficult. And that's putting it nicely.”

The vampire smirked, glad to have gotten this talk over with. “I know what you're talking about.” Ric could be rather difficult, that was true. But same goes for him, so he probably shouldn't talk. “I'll go in search for him. And sorry for bothering you.” he muttered. “You never bother me. But you should really look for my son. He seemed a little down earlier. And I think you know best how to lift his spirits.” Yes, Damon also knew how to “lift” other things, but that was a talk he'd rather not have with Ric's mom. “I'll do my best.” he promised, leaving the kitchen quietly.

Meanwhile Henry senior and Nate had reappeared to watch the football game, Maggie and Elroy decided to help Maeve in the kitchen. Ric was just on the phone with Elena, so Damon joined in on the conversation by making snide comments. Afterwards he and Ric sat down as well to watch the game, although neither was really interested. Damon would have preferred going upstairs for some alone time with his boyfriend, but Ric insisted on staying in the living-room.

Finally Maeve called them to dinner and the whole family grouped around the table, laden with various foods. “Before we start eating I want each of us to say what we are thankful for this year.” Maeve asked and then told Damon that it was a family tradition and since he was a guest he should have the honor of starting.

The dark-haired vampire felt completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to say. Everyone was staring at him intently, as if expecting wise words now. Then he felt Ric´s hand on his knee and looked at him for help. “Just say what comes to mind. It´s okay.” Alaric whispered, smiling at him. “Okay, I... I´m thankful for Ric, I guess.” Damon started hesitantly, without taking his eyes off his boyfriend.

“I´m thankful that you understand me and accept me the way I am. I´m thankful for... our friends and … all that back in Mystic Falls. And for your family, for inviting us and accepting us here.” he ended with a shrug, finally tearing his gaze away from Ric. Maeve gave him a fond smile and asked Alaric to continue. “Well, I’m thankful for my awesome boyfriend, who´s always there for me, supports me and loves me, despite all my flaws. For my family and finally being home again. And for my crazy surrogate family back in Mystic Falls.” the teacher said with a grin.

Damon grabbed his hand underneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze, not really listening to the rest of the family saying their thanks. He was glad when the dinner finally started.

###

After dinner the whole family gathered together in the living-room. Henry senior played with his grandchildren, while Elroy talked with Ric and Nate about work. Maeve had gotten the old photo albums out and was showing Maggie and Damon pictures of her sons from their childhood. “Oh look, Alaric was five in that picture. Doesn´t he look cute with his short pants? And that´s Nathan´s first day of school. You can really see how excited he was.” she gushed and Damon agreed with her. He couldn´t wait to show some of these pictures to the kids at home. Maybe when they all came home for Christmas..

“Yes, that´s what I was looking for. That was Halloween. Nathan was dressed up as Superman, see? He always loved these comic-books. And that´s Alaric dressed up as Count Dracula. I had almost forgotten about that. I think he was nine, if I´m not mistaken. He wanted a cape as well, but he thought superheroes were lame. And vampires would be way cooler.” Maeve told them with a giggle and winked at Damon conspiratorially. “Count Dracula? You don´t say...” the vampire commented with a grin.

###

Shortly after Maggie had brought her protesting boys to bed, Damon and Alaric bid the others goodnight and went upstairs as well. “You could´ve warned me about that whole say-what-I´m-thankful-for thing before dinner.” the dark-haired vampire complained, dropping down on the bed and picking up Mr. Whiskers (who had somehow found his way into bed this morning) and watching his boyfriend undress. “Yeah, sorry. I completely forgot about that.” the teacher murmured absently. Something seemed to bother him, Damon had noticed. He had been distant ever since their return early afternoon. And Maeve's earlier words had confirmed it. “So... you wanted to be Count Dracula?” he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. That was really too funny.

But Ric didn´t react. Damon sighed. Okay, enough was enough. He hated seeing his boyfriend like that. All serious and brooding. It always made him want to shake Ric until he snapped out of it. But he knew that it wouldn´t help. He had tried it once and only ended up making Ric punch him, before sulking even more. So he would have to talk to him. There was no way around it. “Okay, what´s wrong? Since we got back from our little sightseeing tour you´ve been acting weird. And I didn´t do anything.”

Ric locked the door, lay down next to Damon and took the toy cat from him. “No, you didn´t. It's me. I think... I just realized for the first time really, that I´m a vampire.” he admitted quietly, hugging Mr. Whiskers absently, like he had done as a kid.

“So the blood-drinking and stuff wasn´t enough of a clue for you?” Damon joked. But Alaric didn´t laugh. Didn't even smile. He looked troubled and very sad. “How many more days like this will we have? How many years, until I have to cut off all contact to my family, so they don´t notice that we don´t age? Three, maybe four? Not more than five, right? I mean, Nate is already wondering why I'm not getting any gray hairs.” he muttered dejectedly.

Damon felt completely taken aback by the question and he hated it. They should have talked about all this long before now. He knew that. There was more to being a vampire than drinking blood and a daylight ring after all. You had to start over every few years. You couldn't settle down anywhere and you rarely ever made friends. It had never really bothered Damon all that much, since he had never felt at home anywhere. Well, with the exception of Mystic Falls and it was enough to go back there every few decades.

One day they would have to leave Mystic Falls again, him and Ric. Because even though the mayor and the sheriff were on their side, not everyone would simply accept the fact that there were good vampires as well. And not everyone in Mystic Falls even knew that vampires existed. It was just inevitable that they had to leave.

But he didn´t want to think about that right now. Ric´s current dilemma was worse enough. Although maybe easier to solve. “There´s another way.” The teacher looked at him questioningly, so he explained: “We could compel them, so they won´t notice anything. They´ll think we´re aging just like everybody else. We would still have to be careful with outsiders, but... you wouldn´t have to say goodbye so soon.” It would be bad enough when Ric´s family died one day. For Ric just as much as for Damon. Losing Maeve would be like losing his mother a second time.

Alaric looked torn between wanting to keep in touch with his family and fear of compelling them. “Think about it sometime. Doesn´t have to be tonight. We´ve got time. You don´t have to decide right now, okay?” Damon assured. Since Ric still looked sad he decided to lighten the atmosphere. That had been enough adult talk for one day. And Maeve had asked him to “lift” Ric's spirits, right?

“I mean, aren´t there better ways to spend this evening than angsting about the still distant future?” You´ve got me here, barely clothed in this comfortable bed...” he whispered seductively. He took the toy cat away from Ric and placed it gently next to the bed before leaning over his boyfriend.

Which had the desired effect. The teacher grinned and pulled him down for a kiss. After a moment Damon started kissing a path down his chest, moving slowly downwards. “I can´t believe that I´m letting you seduce me in my old bedroom. Again.” Ric muttered, but made no move to stop him. “Yeah, you said pretty much the same thing about your classroom at Mystic Falls high.” the dark-haired vampire reminded with a sly grin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. this is the last chapter. There just wasn't any more to tell.

Damon and Alaric were among the first to get up the next morning. Maeve was just brewing coffee when they entered the kitchen, so Ric set the table while Damon helped with breakfast. Soon the delicious smell of fresh pancakes and bacon and eggs coaxed the rest of the family into the kitchen. Everyone settled down at the table and started talking.

Henry senior surprised Alaric by asking about Elena and Jeremy and Maggie listened as well, while the teacher talked about the two teenagers he had taken responsibility for. Meanwhile Damon was still helping Maeve at the stove. “Did you talk to Alaric yesterday?” she asked quietly. “Yes, I did. That whole thing is still new for him. It isn´t always easy.” Damon whispered back. Even if no-one was paying them any attention right now he didn´t want to say the word vampire aloud. Maeve knew what he was talking about anyways.

“I can imagine. He´s lucky to have you. The two of you will manage just fine, I think.” Sentences like this one always left the dark-haired vampire a little speechless. Despite the fact that he knew Ric´s mom really well now, he was always surprised how much faith she had in him. “I´ll do my best.” he assured and she smiled. “I know, darling. You´re a good team. It´s wonderful to see that you´re relationship has deepened even more since my visit. That you trust each other so fully and love each other unconditionally.” she murmured, casting a quick look towards the table, where Ric was now having a talk with Nate. The older one would be going on a business trip to Virginia in January and was thinking about paying a short visit to Mystic Falls.

“Okay, now take a seat and eat something. You´re still way too thin.” Maeve ordered finally. When Damon started to protest she cut him off: “Yes, I know. I won´t be able to change that. You explained it all before. But it would look suspicious if I didn´t even try, wouldn´t it?” She was right about that, so he gave in and took a seat next to Ric while Maeve piled pancakes onto his plate.

“Nate might visit us in January.” the teacher let his boyfriend know. “Sure why not. There´s enough room. But I hope you warned him about the emo-teen you dragged into my house.” Damon joked, earning himself a light punch in the side. “Jeremy isn´t half as bad as Damon is trying to make you believe. And the emo-phase is long over.” Alaric assured his brother.

“That´s fine. Who knows what I´ll be going through with those two?” Nate muttered, pointing at his sons who were busy fighting over the sirup and only quieted down when their mother intervened. “As long as you leave those two at home you´re always welcome. But feel free to bring your pretty wife.” Damon suggested, winking at Maggie who promptly blushed. Nate glared at him.

“Stop the death-glare, Nate. Damon´s a flirt. It´s his normal setting. He doesn´t think anything by it and you get used to it.” Ric told his brother. Strangely enough he had really gotten used to his boyfriend hitting on anyone and anything. Damon really didn’t think anything by doing it. Last night he had even hit on Nate, who just hadn´t realized it.

###

After breakfast it was already time for the vampires to say goodbye. Alaric found it a little sad that they had to leave already. On the other hand he knew that his family would start grating on his nerves very soon if they stayed longer. There was a reason why he had moved so far away.

He and Damon put their bags into the car and said goodbye to everyone. Henry junior only waved at them, before concentrating on his mobile phone again and Paul was still mad at Damon for beating him at the games. Nathan gave Ric a quick hug and shook Damon´s hand, before watching in annoyance how the dark-haired vampire kissed Maggie´s cheek, making her blush and giggle once again. Elroy shook both their hands and mumbled something in Latin.

Finally Maeve escorted them to the car. Alaric was a little surprised that his father followed as well, but chose not to comment. Henry senior forced a smile to his face, shook Damon´s hand and wished him a safe flight, while the dark-haired vampire said a polite goodbye. Then Ric found himself face to face with his father, who had a difficult time to find the right words. “I just don´t get you, Alaric.” he admitted finally. “I never did. Not even when you were just a boy. You were always a little strange to me. Always more Maeve´s son than mine. And I know that we seldom agree on anything. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want you to be happy, son.”

For a moment the teacher felt too overwhelmed to find words. That were probably the most honest words his father had ever said to him. He wondered what his mother might have said, because he surely wouldn´t have come around on his own. If he didn't know any better he would think Damon had secretly compelled him, but he knew that the dark-haired vampire hadn't had a chance to do so. “I am happy, dad.” he assured finally. Henry nodded and cast a glance at Damon. “Yes, that´s plain to see. Well, like I said, I don’t understand it. But I think I like him better than your Isobel.” he murmured a little resigned. Ric grinned and declared: “Yeah, me too.” His father nodded, shook his hand and went back inside.

Ric watched him go and then looked at Damon and Maeve just in time to see his mother hand Damon an envelope. “Like I promised.” she whispered and winked at him. Damon grinned and hugged her, promising to call as soon as they got home. Ric hugged his mom as well, before they both got into the car.

Maeve remained standing in the driveway and waved when they finally drove off. “He likes me better than Isobel. Was that a compliment?” the dark-haired vampire wanted to know. “I knew you were eavesdropping.” Ric muttered dryly. “And yes, coming from my father that was definitely a compliment.” Damon nodded, pleased. Maybe Henry Saltzman wasn´t as bad as Giuseppe Salvatore had been after all.

“What did mom give you? That envelope?” The older vampire grinned at his boyfriend. “Oh, just a couple of pictures. She made copies for me.” Just great. He should´ve guessed. “You know that´s totally unfair, right? I would love to see pictures of you as a kid as well, but that´s impossible.” the teacher grumbled.

Damon remained strangely silent. After a while he admitted: “I still have an old family portrait. It was taken a few weeks after Stefan was born. Probably the last picture of my mom.” Instantly Alaric thought of the little box Damon kept hidden in their bedroom. He knew that there was a photo of Damon´s mother inside as well as some jewelry that had probably belonged to her. But he didn´t know what else the box contained. Unlike his boyfriend he respected the privacy of others and had never looked, although he had been curious.

“Can I see it?” he asked. The dark-haired vampire smirked. “If you ask nicely. And only if I can show your Dracula picture to the kids.” Ric laughed. “I´ll ask very nicely then. And you´re going to show that damn photo around whether I allow you to do so or not.” He knew his boyfriend. “You have to admit that it´s pretty ironic. You dressed up as a vampire...” Ric didn´t have to admit anything. Although he could see the irony. What the hell had he been thinking back then, when he chose that costume?

###

Thankfully the flight back was just as quiet as the first flight. Damon was pouting for a while after Ric hand´t agreed to have sex in the toilet with him, so the teacher used the chance to finish reading his book. The fact that Damon kept throwing peanuts at him and didn´t share his bourbon was a small price to pay. Finally that seemed to get boring as well, so the dark-haired vampire pulled Mr. Whiskers from his bag and started waving him in Ric´s face, saying in a ridiculously high-pitched voice: “You were always such a bore. That´s why I ran away and hid in the attic.”

Ric had to laugh despite himself. Had he really said his boyfriend acted like a 12 year old? He had thought him too mature then. Six was more like it. In the end he silenced him with a kiss and then asked: “Okay, how about that: If you let me finish my book in peace you can do whatever you want to me once we get home.” The older vampire thought about it for a second and then nodded. “Alright.” He sank down in is seat and cuddled against Ric, seemingly forgetting all about the toy cat he was still clutching in his arms and pretended to doze. He looked awfully cute and Ric thought for a second about taking a picture. But he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it so he concentrated on his book instead.

###

Liz was already waiting for them at the airport. She noticed the toy cat in Damon´s arms with a frown, but obviously decided that she didn´t even want to know. Instead she asked about their visit. “Well, it went better than expected, actually. My family was quite nice and even Damon managed to behave.” Alaric joked, while Damon insisted that he had all the Saltzmans wrapped around his finger.

“Anything new around here?” the dark-haired vampire asked after they had gotten into the sheriff´s car. “Oh yes, I´m afraid. We found two dead campers in the woods last night. I’m not sure, but judging by their wounds I´m guessing hybrids, since the full moon is still a week away. I was hoping you could look into it.” the sheriff admitted. The two vampires exchanged a quick glance and then replied simultaneously: “Sure, we´ll take care of it.” Obviously things in Mystic Falls were back to normal.


End file.
